Question about the new R550 with the old R510 unleashed

[bdillard]

Hello,

I'm looking at the R550 on amazon and they mention I need a cloud license.   Our environment is almost all R510's in an unleashed environment.   We don't use the cloud management for anything currently.  COuld I just add the R550 to our environment without purchasing any additional licensing?   Will it join the unleashed network?

[DarrelRhodes]

Hi,

Cloud management is not mandatory and the AP can have the Unleashed firmware uploaded to it and can run in the same environment as the R510s. N.B. You will need to ensure your Unleashed network is running the latest version to support the R550.

You may need to purchase a support contract in order to gain access to the Unleashed firmware on the Ruckus support site.

Alternatively; I'd recommend you purchase an Unleashed-specific AP, which is already loaded with the Unleashed firmware.

HTH,
Darrel.

[hayward_kong]

Note: Ruckus does not provide warranty to purchases from resellers on Amazon since they are normally Unauthorized resellers on Amazon. And it sounds odd that they mention that you need to buy a cloud license since Unleashed is free to download and install. If you chose to purchase a new R550 I would contact your local Authorized Ruckus Dealer and they would normally provided a limited lifetime warranty on the unit.

If you want an online authorized Ruckus Dealer I suggested getting it from here since I've made purchases here for my clients and decent pricing for a local authorized dealer.

https://www.netwifistore.com

I suggest you contact them directly to get better pricing than what's listed. And they are good about registering your APs  on Ruckus Database so you get limited lifetime warranty on the unit. Note: they will push you to get a support contract if you need one, but normally I don't since I provide support for my clients. 

They are located in Irvine, CA.

Anyway, as far as Unleashed goes, it's free and you don't need to buy a support contract since it's targeted to the SMB market.  Unleashed currently supports up to 128 APs and 2048 Wifi clients  on one site. Note: The master controller AP is limited to 100 Wifi clients.  You should be able to mix in the R510 and R550 as long as they are on the same unleashed firmware.  

I suggest that you wait and hold out a little longer on the R550 since I heard on unleashed 200.9.x seems a little buggy on the R550.  I suggest you pour through the forums and wait til 200.10.x  is released before getting the R550.  Personally, I'll wait for Wifi 6e Ruckus APs.